My father told me the story of his cousin who, during WW II, was a shipbuilder in the Twin Cities. They built LSTs, which were turned out by the thousands for the war effort. One of these was ill-fated from the start. It slid off the ways into the Mississippi and promptly sank to the bottom. After raising the transport boat, they fixed it and tried again. Sploosh. Bubble. Thud. Down to the bottom. This happened again and again until at last there was a newspaper story about "The Ship that Faced a Thousand Launches."

Later they gave it to George VI, to use as a motor launch. He named her the HMS West; certainly, the Good King's Launch is West.


TEd